Our Locations

About Formations

Our head office is located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada and we have 5 additional distribution centers in Calgary, Saskatoon, Regina, Winnipeg and Vancouver. Collectively, we have nearly 200,000 square feet of warehouse space, allowing us to deliver industrial building supplies on tight timelines. For the more specialized orders, we are able to source nearly any wood product available from our unique supplier network to insure your project is a success.

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Hardwood Plywood Panels

We take great pride in distributing the finest hardwood plywood panels to meet all of your applications. Veneer is our passion. Let us tailor products & panel formats to make your company efficient, consistent and profitable.

Hardwood Plywood

We stock or have quick access to Hardwood Plywood panels in all grades, veneer species and core types, ranging in thickness from 1/8” to 1-1/2”. We can also supply you with FSC certified, Moisture Rated, Fire Rated, and No-Added Urea Formaldehyde (NAUF) hardwood plywood. Our products are used in manufacturing fine furniture, commercial fixtures, high-end cabinetry, architectural millwork, and more interior surfaces. We can also supply you with Pre-Finished hardwood plywood panels, both imported and domestic variations.

Veneer Core

Veneer-Core products are created from thin slices of wood which are glued onto core panels. These core panels can be wood, particle board, or MDF. The veneer sheets, called flitches, are glued together with the grains at right angles to adjacent layers, to give the product strength.

Particleboard Core (PBC)

PBC is one of the heaviest and least expensive core option for hardwood plywood, offering a smooth, void-free surface for veneer faces. However, it offers the least amount of structural strength and is subject to the greatest amount of expansion if exposed to moisture. PBC wood particles are bonded together with urea formaldehyde or, by special order NAUF PBC.

Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF) Core

MDF is similar to PBC, but the particles are smaller and more uniform, thus offering great stability, and is less likely to warp or expand when subject to a change in temperature or humidity. MDF core is also stronger than PBC and offers more screw holding properties. MDF products are most often manufactured with urea-formaldehyde resins, however we also carry NAUF MDF core products.

Core Type images:

VENEER CUTS

Flat Cut / Plain Slicing
This is the most common method of veneer manufacturing, producing a grain pattern known as cathedral.
Because each leaf in the flitch is similar, a consistent and even matching pattern is possible.
Flat cut veneer is ideally suited for wall panels and furniture.

Rotary Slicing
The log is turned in a circular motion against a knife, peeling off a continuous thin sheet of wood veneer
(like unrolling wrapping paper). It is the most economical method of producing veneer, resulting in the highest yield.
The grain is inconsistent and leaves are most difficult to match. This type of veneer is best suited for paint grade or
utility surfaces.

Quarter Sawing/ Slicing
is a process in which logs are cut (or veneer is sliced) into quarters and then the boards (or veneer) are sawn (or sliced)
at an angle away from the center of the log. This causes the growth rings, or grains, to pass through the boards at
a more perfect 90 degree angle.

Rift Cutting/ Rift Sawing
Produced by cutting at a slight angle to the radial to produce a quartered appearance without excessive ray flake.
The rift cut method, commonly used for Oak, can only be used on sizable logs.
Rift cut veneer can easily be sequenced and matched. This also produces lumber of great stability.
However, since this produces a great deal of waste, (in the form of wedge-shaped scraps from between the boards),
rift-sawing is much less-commonly used than flat sawing and quarter sawing.

VENEER MATCHING

Book Matching
Alternating pieces of veneer are flipped over so the two adjoining surfaces mirror each other,
giving the appearance of an open book. This is the most common type of matching.
Because the “tight” and “loose” faces alternate in adjacent leaves, they reflect light and accept stain
differently, which may produce a noticeable color variation in some species or flitches.

Butt or End Matching
Veneer leaves are spliced end to end to create a longer panel or piece of veneer.
There are two types of end matching: Architectural end matching – where leaves are first book
or slip matched end-to-end and then side-to-side, alternating end and side.

Center Matching
Each panel face is made with an even number of flitch sheets with a center line appearing at the
midpoint of the panel and an equal number of veneer sheets on each side of the center line.
The number of leaves on the face is always even, but the widths are not necessarily the same.

Pleasing Match
Veneer is matched by color but not by grain pattern.

Random Matching / Planked
Veneer are placed next to each other to purposefully mismatch grain, color, size, and pattern.
This often produces a casual or rustic appearance as it is trying to simulate lumber planking.

Running Match
The panel face is made from components running through the flitch consecutively.
Any portion of a component or leaf in starting the next panel.

Sequence Matching
A method of arranging veneer faces such that each face is in order relative to its original position
the tree and, therefore, contains features of grain and figures similar to adjacent faces.

Slip Matching
Means that veneer leaves in a flitch are “slipped.” Successive veneer leaves in a flitch are “slipped” one
alongside the other and edge-glued in this manner. The result is a series of grain repeats, but no pairs.
The danger with this method derives from the fact that grain patterns are rarely perfectly straight.
Sometimes a grain pattern “runs off” the edge of the leaf. A series of leaves with this condition could
usually make a panel look like it is leaning. In the book matching the pairs balance each other.
However, since all faces have the same light refraction, there will be a uniformity of color, unlike book
matching.